| Name | Lake Shore Limited |
|---|---|
| Start | New York |
| End | Chicago |
| Distance | 959 Miles |
| Duration | 20 hours |
| Creation | 1897 by the New York Central Railroad |
The voyage has finally begun! I left my apartment in New York this afternoon around 1:30 to take a train to a train. I think I packed pretty lightly for what will be just over two weeks, but in those bags I have food and drinks for the next three days, a comforter and pillow, books and magazine, and a ton of other little things I found to make this journey more enjoyable.
For this section of the trip (NYC to Seattle) I am riding solo as Terri is already on the West Coast with friends, eagerly awaiting my arrival. As I sat sweating in a subway car, Terri was enjoying a bit more space (though similar temperatures!).
This first Amtrak train left from Penn Station in NYC. The new(ish) Moynihan Train Hall is super spacious and bright with many more departure boards. The waiting for the last minute to see which track to go to, and then rushing to get there to find a seat, is the same, it is just prettier now!
I must admit that I forgot how beautiful upstate New York is. Initially, I was thinking that this segment of the trip was just a necessary step to get to Chicago for the real trip to begin. If you’ve ever taken Metro North, however, you know that these tracks are so close to the Hudson River it almost feels like you’re on a boat. (I am sitting on the opposite side of the train from the river as I was planning for potential lake views, though it looks like it might be dark when we pass through there. Alas, I was unable to take a picture of the Hudson and am instead inserting this much better, out-of-body photo to capture the essence!)
Things outside my side of the train were certainly still beautiful. We passed through a number of quaint riverfront towns, over bridges spanning tributaries of the Hudson, and alongside forests and mountains.